NSW Premier cops backlash after second State of Origin photo gaffe

New South Wales state premier Gladys Berejiklian's attempts to drum up support for the Blues in State of Origin have backfired once again.

For a second game in a row the premier's well-intentioned social media posts have caused an unwanted stir, after an image of Ms Berejiklian with Blues coach Brad Fittler prompted outrage.

HUGE: NRL boss details State of Origin contingency plan amid virus scare

HARSH: Queensland player ruled ineligible in State of Origin 'disgrace'

The premier announced much of NSW would enter into lockdown from Saturday due to an alarming rise in coronavirus cases over the last week.

With the population once again asked to stay at home and not mix with family or friends until July 9, the image of the pair Ms Berejiklian posted on Twitter on Sunday morning was not well recieved.

The pair are smiling and standing next to each other in the photo, obviously against advice to avoid physical contact and wear a mask.

The premier's tweet attracted a significant amount of criticism from many who felt it was an act of hypocrisy - but some sleuthing into the premier's previous tweets showed that was not the case.

The image posted on Sunday afternoon was actually just a cropped version of a photo taken before the State of Origin opener in Townsville, earlier in June.

That didn't stop her from coming under fire from annoyed punters who were unaware it was a recycled picture.

Earlier in the weekend, Ms Berejiklian announced an extension of the current lockdown measures to include all of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong from Saturday 6pm until midnight July 9.

That increases the length of the lockdown by a week after certain eastern suburbs were placed in lockdown at midnight on Friday.

“I said that this the scariest time since the pandemic started and that's proven to be the case," she said.

NSW Premier caught up in second Origin social media gaffe

The premier's social media team has struggled to get the tone of Ms Berejiklian's posts about State of Origin right, after she was lampooned for a post before the series opener.

The premier took to social media to show her support for her state with the first game held in Townsville, but the photo showed the premier with her back to the camera, looking at a comically small television, wrapped in a Blues scarf and wearing a beanie.

She was also holding an unopened can of Coke Zero in the picture, which was captioned 'Getting ready for game one' and posted at four in the afternoon.

The odd photo, four hours from kick off, sparked a flurry of tweets taking aim at the bizarre tweet.

Some fans couldn't get over the staged photo, from the unopened can of Coke, or the fact coverage hadn't even started for Origin at 4pm.

Her stilted pose sparked a barrage of memes and edits placing the premier in outlandish situations.

Watch 'Mind Games', the new series from Yahoo Sport Australia exploring the often brutal mental toil elite athletes go through in pursuit of greatness:

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.